Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 938

Namgung Hwang’s eyes moved quickly. He tried hard to hide what he felt, but the words he just heard were too much.

“No food?” he asked.

“…Yes, Clan Lord,” came the reply.

Namgung Hwang laughed, but it was an empty sound. He felt more confused than angry.

“Merchants used to stop here when they traveled the Yangtze River,” Namgung Hwang said. “Surely they kept food here?”

“…It looks like the Green Forest bandits took all the food when they left,” came the answer.

“And the pirates didn’t bring much food when they came back,” the voice added.

Namgung Myung closed his eyes tightly. “I am sorry, Clan Lord,” he said. “I should have checked this myself.”

Namgung Hwang spoke quickly, leaning back in his chair. “I told you to take Plum Blossom Island. If anyone is to blame, it is me. Don’t lower your head!”

*Food?* Namgung Hwang thought. If you just looked at one thing, it wasn’t a huge problem. For normal soldiers, no food would be a disaster, deciding who wins or loses a fight. But these were *martial artists*, people trained in special fighting skills. They could go without food for two weeks easily.

*But not now.* They were already tired. The pirates kept attacking, making them weaker all the time. And now, no food?

*This will get worse.* Each problem by itself was small. The attacks that never stopped. The cannons firing from far away. No food to eat. Feeling trapped on this island. Even the worry that they might have to fight for their lives if help didn’t come soon.

Alone, none of these were too bad. But together, it felt like a huge weight pressing down on him, like tons of steel on his back.

A trap. This place was a trap. The more they tried to escape, the deeper they got stuck, like in thick mud.

Namgung Hwang rubbed his tired eyes. In a fight where everyone was giving their best, almost no one could fight as well as Namgung Hwang. Everyone knew this, not just his own clan.

But even his amazing sword skills, skills that could cut through the sky, even his powerful strength that could split rivers, were useless here.

“This is a river, right?” Namgung Hwang asked. “If we need food, can’t we just get it from the river?”

“…We already looked,” came the reply. “But it looks like the pirates did something. There are no fish near the island.”

Then, Namgung Dowi, who had been quiet until now, spoke. “Even if we *could* catch fish, I don’t think we should eat them.”

“…Why not?” Namgung Hwang asked.

“They are pirates,” Dowi said. “They know this river better than us. We don’t know what they might have done to the water or the fish. If there’s a chance something is dangerous, we should be very careful.”

Namgung Hwang nodded slowly, thinking hard. Maybe Dowi was worrying too much. But the Namgung Clan was in trouble *now* because they *hadn’t* worried enough before.

“What about drinking water?” Namgung Hwang asked. “Is that safe?”

Namgung Myung nodded. “Even the Tang Clan, who are experts in poison, couldn’t poison the Yangtze River when it flows like this. So, I think the water is safe to drink.”

“At least some good news,” Namgung Hwang said quietly, rubbing his tired face. He looked very tired, more tired than anyone had seen him before.

*It’s still alright, still okay,* he thought. His stomach felt like it was full of sharp needles, but he could handle it. But he couldn’t keep going like this forever.

“When will help arrive?” he asked.

“…They must be coming as fast as they can,” was the reply.

“They *need* to be,” Namgung Hwang said, his voice hard. He leaned back and looked at the ceiling.

*How weak,* he thought angrily. He had come here full of big plans, and now he was trapped, slowly getting weaker. And now he was waiting to be saved by the Shaolin. How weak he was.

“Damn it!” he said again, louder this time.

Namgung Dowi sighed deeply, watching Namgung Hwang talk to himself. *Is this really the best way?* he wondered. Doubt started to grow in his mind.

He wasn’t saying Namgung Myung or Namgung Hwang were wrong. But because of their plan, they were just waiting, getting weaker and weaker. If this went on for much longer, all they could do was hide and wait to be captured.

*What would *he* do?* Suddenly, Chung Myung, the Mount Hua Sword Saint, came to Dowi’s mind.

He knew in his head that waiting was the only smart thing to do. But his heart told him that if Mount Hua people were here, they would never think like this.

*If the Mount Hua Sword Saint was here…* Just then – BANG! Namgung Hwang jumped up from his chair and pulled out his sword in one fast move.

“What!” he shouted. Without thinking, he swung his sword. A bright white light burst from the sword, smashing through the roof and shooting up into the sky.

KABOOM! A huge, scary explosion shook the air as pieces of the broken roof flew everywhere.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! More explosions followed quickly. The first one was from Namgung Hwang’s sword, but the others were different. Cannons. It was cannon fire.

Cannon shells started falling like rain on the middle of the island, right where they were.

BOOM! BOOM! Buildings blew apart one after another. Pieces of wood and stone flew all around.

“AAAAAH!”

“Wh-What is that! Why are cannons firing here!”

BOOM! People screamed and shouted in fear, mixed with the loud sounds of exploding shells.

“Defend yourselves! Hit the shells away!” Namgung Hwang yelled and jumped into the air. He started smashing the shells flying towards them with his sword, moving like lightning.

The older fighters understood what to do and quickly followed Namgung Hwang, blocking the cannon fire.

When the cannon fire stopped, they looked around at a terrible scene. It was a disaster. Buildings were smashed, people hurt by the explosions were crying and moaning.

Some people were trapped under broken buildings, just pulling themselves out, yelling in pain and anger. Others were running around, trying to help the injured, shouting for bandages and medicine.

GRRRR… Namgung Hwang clenched his teeth so hard they almost cracked.

“…What were the guards doing?” he growled. “How did the ships get so close to the island?”

“N-No, Clan Lord,” Namgung Myung stammered, his face white.

“What?” Namgung Hwang demanded.

“The ships… the ships are still far away,” Myung said.

Namgung Hwang turned quickly. He could see the pirate ships on the river, dark shapes in the night. They were still as far away as they had been during the day.

“…Then what is this cannon fire?” he asked, confused.

“It… it must be White Lightning Cannons,” Myung said quietly.

“…White Lightning Cannons?” Namgung Hwang repeated, not understanding.

Namgung Myung bit his lip and nodded. “White Lightning Cannons can shoot three times further than normal cannons. It looks like they are now using the White Lightning Cannons they took from us, using them for real.”

CRACK! Namgung Hwang squeezed his fist so tight his knuckles turned white. “Black Dragon King! That bad man!” He felt his face get hot with anger, like he might pass out. He couldn’t control his fury.

It wasn’t just that they were attacked. It was that he was helpless, unable to do anything even when they were being attacked right in front of him. That was what he couldn’t stand.

“Then…” Namgung Dowi said, his voice low and serious. “That means they can keep firing cannons at us from that distance forever.”

“…They must run out of cannonballs and gunpowder eventually,” Namgung Myung said, trying to sound hopeful.

“They can just get more,” Dowi said simply.

Namgung Myung couldn’t answer. He was trying to be positive, but he couldn’t find any reason to be.

“Clan Lord,” Namgung Dowi said, looking straight at Namgung Hwang, like he had made a big decision. “If we stay like this, we will all be destroyed.”

“Dowi,” Namgung Hwang said quietly.

“We can’t just wait for help that might never come. Our buildings are gone. Cannons will keep firing. If we keep being scared and waiting for the next attack, we won’t even last three days before we are too weak to fight.”

Namgung Myung stepped forward, ready to argue with Dowi. “Shaolin will be here in three days!”

“Yes, maybe,” Dowi said. “But what if the pirates attack us on land before then?”

Namgung Myung went silent. Just lasting three days wasn’t enough if they got weaker every day. And who knew if Shaolin would really come in three days?

“Clan Lord,” Dowi said again. “This can’t continue.”

Namgung Hwang looked at Dowi, his eyes burning with intensity. “So? What are you saying we should do?”

“What you said before,” Dowi replied.

“Hmm?” Namgung Dowi turned and looked towards the river. “You said you could break through the pirates and reach the river by yourself, right?”

Namgung Hwang frowned. “Yes, of course. But I told you! Even if I get past them and reach the land, it won’t change anything. It will just make things worse here…”

“Not the land,” Dowi said.

“Hmm?” Namgung Hwang looked confused. But Namgung Myung seemed to understand. His eyes went wide.

“Y-You don’t mean…?”

“Yes,” Dowi said. He looked at Namgung Myung, then back towards the river. There, on the dark water, was a huge ship, mostly hidden in the shadows. A massive ship painted a dark, scary black.

“The Black Dragon Ship…” Namgung Myung whispered, sounding afraid.

Namgung Dowi spoke firmly. “If you leave the island, no one can stop the Black Dragon King.”

“Then there’s only one way,” Dowi said, his voice full of determination. “We attack the Black Dragon King first. If we can cross the river, attack the Black Dragon Ship, and kill the Black Dragon King, then the pirates will stop attacking us.”

“The Namgung Clan is not afraid and does not back down!” Dowi said strongly. “Instead of just being beaten like this, it’s better to risk our lives and fight back!”

“Dowi…” Namgung Dowi looked hard at the Black Dragon Ship. *That’s what *he* would do,* Dowi thought. He remembered the Jang River Disaster. Chung Myung, the Mount Hua Sword Saint, had left everything else and rushed to attack Jang Il-So. He must have believed that the only way to fix that terrible situation was to kill Jang Il-So, the one who planned everything.

It was the same now. If they were fighting pirates, the only way to win was to get rid of the pirate leader.

“I will help you, Father,” Dowi said. “To save everyone here, this is the only way. Clan Lord! Decide now!” Namgung Dowi bowed his head to Namgung Hwang.

Namgung Hwang stared at him, biting his lip. “…No. Impossible,” he said finally.

“Clan Lord!” Dowi looked up, surprised. He never thought Namgung Hwang would say no.

“I am a fighter,” Namgung Hwang said. “But more than that, I am the leader of the Namgung Clan.”

“I cannot order everyone to do something that will almost certainly kill them if it fails.”

“But if we stay here…”

“We will wait!” Namgung Hwang interrupted, his voice loud.

“Shaolin will come, I know it. When Shaolin gets here, we will tear those pirates apart like bugs and eat them alive! Until then…” CRACK! Namgung Hwang bit his lip so hard it broke, and blood ran down his chin.

“Until then, we will hold on, no matter what!”

“…Understood,” Namgung Dowi said quietly, his voice sad. The Clan Lord had spoken. That was the end of the discussion.

But… *He would have thought the same way I do,* Dowi thought again. He sighed deeply.